The Executive, at the discretion of the Chairman, will hear up to four people, each of whom must be a resident or a business ratepayer or an elector, who wish to address it in accordance with the Executive Standing Orders, on matters that affect the area or its residents and over which the Executive has powers and duties. The Chairman will select the order of the matters to be heard. Each person will be limited to a period of three minutes and this part of the meeting must not exceed fifteen minutes.
Requests to speak must be submitted in writing to the Monitoring Officer, or the officer mentioned at the top of this agenda letter, by noon on the day before the meeting and the request must detail the subject matter of the address.
Minutes:
The Executive heard four addresses from members of the public as follows:
(1) Danica Priest, Long Ashton resident, on the Local Plan.
Ms Priest addressed the Executive and raised concerns around the impact on nature, eco-systems, habitat loss, the loss of open spaces and Green Belt with the inclusion of parts of the Green Belt in the proposed Local Plan.
The Chairperson thanked Ms Priest for her address and referred her comments for consideration later in the meeting under agenda item 11, subsequently brought forward to agenda item 9 (North Somerset Local Plan).
(2) Harvey Lilley, Long Ashton resident, on the Local Plan
Mr Lilley addressed the meeting on the impact of the inclusion of parts of the Green Belt in the Local Plan. He made reference to the negative impact on mental health and wildlife. He raised concerns around the government-set housing target for North Somerset which did not take local circumstances and constraints such as the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Green Belt into account. He spoke about the requirement for exceptional circumstances to enable building to be on Green Belt land which he believed did not apply in North Somerset’s situation. He added that the Local Plan should cater for the needs of local people and that building on the Green Belt would not accord with North Somerset Council’s declared Climate Emergency as green belt land was carbon captive.
The Chairperson thanked Mr Lilley for his address and referred his comments for consideration later in the meeting under agenda item 11, subsequently brought forward to agenda item 9 (North Somerset Local Plan).
(3) Cathy Fagg, resident of Long Ashton, on the Local Plan.
Ms Fagg addressed the Executive referring to the issue that whilst many residents of Long Ashton recognised the need for more housing, this should not be at the expense of Green Belt land which gave breathing space and a clear sense of identity. She queried why greenfield land should be built on before identified brownfield sites and added that the Green Belt served as a means for carbon capture, recreation and a support for mental health. She noted her concern at the response to the Local Plan consultation by one of the large developers.
The Chairperson thanked Ms Fagg for her address and referred her comments for consideration later in the meeting under agenda item 11, subsequently brought forward to agenda item 9 (North Somerset Local Plan).
(4) Sarah Ould, resident of Backwell, on the Local Plan
Ms Ould addressed the Executive and raised concerns on behalf of Backwell residents on the large number of new homes which were laid out in the proposed Local Plan and which would e a 70% increase in housing numbers in the village. She made reference to the belief that the housing numbers for North Somerset were based on a defective algorithm which she felt the government was likely to change. She raised concerns over the requirement for a large investment in new infrastructure that new housing would bring including the need for a new road over land currently owned by Network Rail. She added that housing should be built over a number of years on small to medium sustainable sites.
The Chairperson thanked Ms Ould for her address and referred her comments for consideration later in the meeting under agenda item 11, subsequently brought forward to agenda item 9 (North Somerset Local Plan).